Beirut  - Thousands of supporters of late Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005, began to assemble in downtown Beirut Saturday morning to commemorate the fourth anniversary of his death.

A massive rally is scheduled to take place amid heavy security measures put in place by the Lebanese army and the internal security forces.

Beirut - A hand grenade went off Thursday morning in Beirut's Sunni district of Nuwairi, causing panic but no casualties, police said.

Police said the blast took place in an abandoned two-story building in the neighborhood where the majority are followers of the late former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated on February 14, 2005.

Lebanese army troops and police swiftly cordoned off the area and opened an investigation into the incident.

According to Lebanese security sources the grenade was believed to have been meant to scare people away from participating in the planned mass demonstration in Beirut's downtown district to marke the the fourth anniversary of Hariri's killing in a bomb attack.

Beirut  - Defying new assassination threats, Lebanese parliamentarian Marwan Hamadeh did something he hasn't done in years: He took a walk in Beirut's streets without a single bodyguard.

It would be an unremarkable event had this not been Lebanon, and had Hamadeh been any other MP.

But Hamadeh is a rarity in Lebanon's troubled recent past: an anti-Syrian legislator and former telecommunications minister who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in October 2004.

Beirut - Most Lebanese and Palestinian officials who followed the outcome of the Israeli elections believe that, whichever party eventually forms a government, the prospects for peace in the region remain dim.

The head of Lebanon's ruling majority, Saad Hariri, said "the victory of the right-wing parties show that Israel does not want peace and is making up obstacles not to enter a peace process."

He was referring to the strong showing of Israel's right-wing bloc, which held 65 seats after Tuesday's ballot. The bloc's major party is Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, which garnered 27 seats.

Beirut - Lawmaker and Syria-critic Mustafa Alloush confirmed Monday reports of possible assassination attempts against some Lebanese parliamentarians, but added that precautionary measures have been taken.

"We have been directly informed by the army's command that some Fatah al-Islam members might be preparing for an assassination operation during this period," against some deputies, Alloush told Voice of Lebanon Radio.

He added that a number of MPs have been advised to take security measures for their own safety.

Beirut - The UN General Assembly will elect Lebanon as a non-permanent member of the Security Council next September, a local Lebanese newspaper reported Monday.

Quoting "political sources in Lebanon," the daily An Nahar said Lebanon will serve a two-year term starting January 1, 2010.

The council has five permanent members with veto power - the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France - and 10 non- permanent members who serve two-year terms and have no power to veto resolutions.